


Watching!

by Remlundskan



Category: Gotham (TV) RPF
Genre: Ben is looking out for his friends, Friends to Lovers, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, Smaylor - Freeform, Watching, keeping secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-23 04:42:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12499004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Remlundskan/pseuds/Remlundskan
Summary: Ben is just a good friend looking out for his fellow cast members.





	Watching!

Ben knew something was going on between them. Not 'knowing' in the sense of being aware or having any kind of facts or figures to go by or having the slightest inclination that there was, but he knew there was something he didn't know. Also, he had eyes! He'd seen them look at each other, had seen them talk in hushed voices, had seen them steal glances and touches, too intimate to be filed away under 'Just Good Friends'. So yeah, Ben knew!

He wasn’t altogether sure that they knew, themselves, though.

It became something of a habit for him; watching the two of them together. It had started really early on, and after a while, it was as natural as breathing. Every now and then, when he knew they had a scene together, he would pay close attention, looking for something, without really knowing what it was that he was looking for. But he still did it. And soon enough, he noticed a pattern. Not much, just a simple twitch here and there, a sort of… twinkle in their eyes when they thought no one was watching. He recognized that twinkle. It was the look of someone falling in love.

Ben knew it was destined for disaster. Starting up any kind of relationship, even if it’s just a fling, when one is already married, will only end in heartbreak. And he worried. For both of them. It didn’t seem as though they had done much beyond simple flirting, but a man would have to be blind to miss the obvious sexual tension between them. It was only a matter of time before they crossed the line and there was no going back after that.

Since he had spent so much time observing them, he could also tell the exact moment where things changed between them. In every other way, it was just a normal day on set, everyone was doing their usual thing and Ben, as per usual, found himself looking over at his two friends, the exact moment when Cory happened to look over at Robin, who was standing about six feet away from him. That wasn’t new, he’d seen Cory look at Robin, and vice versa, on several occasions. But this wasn’t the usual, playful flirting-kind of look, something was different. There was a deeper meaning behind that look and when Ben looked over at Robin, the other man was turning bright red and seemed to have trouble knowing what to do with his hands. He quickly looked away, as if he was afraid to look at Cory and Ben had about five seconds of utter confusion, before Robin looked back at Cory with a look that was identical to that of his friend.

Something was definitely going on! And Ben made a promise to himself to find out exactly what. Just a couple of days ago, Robin and Cory had been as thick as thieves, laughing and goofing around on set like they had, basically since the day they met, but now, it was as if they tried to keep as much distance between them as possible. So Ben had to find out what it was, to see if there was anything he could do, or if he should just keep his distance.

So, first break they had, Ben kept a keen eye on both Robin and Cory, his heart thumping away like mad when he suddenly saw them leave the set together. Normally, he wouldn’t have cared, he wouldn’t even have thought twice about it; those two spent so much time together, but this time he had seen the look in their eyes. And so, he followed them. It wasn’t his finest moment, he was man enough to admit that, but he cared deeply about Robin, and Cory was a dear friend and he didn’t want to see either one of them hurt in any way.

He also knew, first-hand, how it felt to fall in love on the job. Hell, he had the ring to prove it. But Robin was already married. And Ben rather liked Dickie, he didn’t really want to see him get hurt, either. No matter what was going on, no matter what happened between Robin and Cory, it wouldn’t be pretty. And if it was serious… He allowed himself to think back on all the cons, how they were always invading each other’s personal space, always touching, and the fans loving every second of it.

They even had a name for it… Smaylor! Ben caught himself grinning. He had seen both Robin and Cory reacting to the Smaylor fans with nothing but smiles and humor, but now, he was starting to wonder if maybe, those fans were on to something, after all. So if it was serious… there was the question about whether or not they should keep it behind closed doors. A scandal could hurt the show, they were all aware of that, and the press finding out about Robin cheating on his husband…

Ben had to stop as he weighed the pros and cons of ‘Smaylor’ going public. No matter how you looked at it, someone was going to get hurt.

And it was as he stood there, contemplating on if he should go back, just go, find his wife, have some coffee, and pretend that he had never seen anything, that he heard unmistakable noises coming from behind one of the closed doors a bit further down the corridor. Was that crying? It sure sounded like someone sobbing, but… Shit, this was a bad idea, everything about this was a bad idea.

Was that Robin crying?!

Certain things were not allowed on the Gotham set. Making Robin Lord Taylor cry, was on the top of the list. Because when Robin cried, hearts broke, and no one wanted to be the cause of that. He moved a little faster towards the door, his hand pressing down on the door handle before he could think it through.

It actually took him a while before he realized what they were doing. In all honesty, the first thought that ran through his head was that Robin was upset about something and Cory was simply holding him up against the wall to keep him from collapsing on the floor.

That wouldn’t explain why Robin’s legs were wrapped around Cory’s waist, though. Or the fact that Cory’s pants were down by his ankles... or the erratic thrusting and grunting. Ben was a fairly intelligent man, but all in all, it took about 2.7 seconds to understand what was going on and quickly shut the door to give them the privacy they so obviously needed.

Ok, so, things had changed. A part of him weren’t the least bit surprised, they had been heading in this direction for a long time, all that pent up sexual tension must have finally reached its boiling point and made them cross that final line. But another part of him was a bit befuddled. Robin didn’t strike him as the kind of man who would cheat on his husband. So had something happened with him and Dickie that Robin hadn’t told his friends and fellow cast members about yet? Or was this just Robin and Cory, allowing themselves one moment of weakness, never to repeat or mention again?

It didn’t seem likely; he’d seen the way Cory looked at his co-star, the man was completely in love with Robin. And Robin… was married to someone else.

He turned and walked away, making a decision not to tell anyone about what he had witnessed, not even his wife. If things turned bad, he would offer his help. For now, he had to let them sort this out on their own. And perhaps remind them to lock the door next time.


End file.
